The Cecil Whig., 1887-07-09
BILL NYES GOOD ADVICE
THE PLANT OF COUNTRY COUSIN.
City Relatives Whose Friendship Grows
Warmer With the Summer, but who Re
gard IA Chalk Mecrschaum Pipe at
Christmas AS Equal to Board.

Christmas Equal to Board.
| From, Tie Ncir York HOrid.
| hold that | violate no particular
amount of confidence when lay the fol-
| lowing private letter before the heated
public:
SHIRLEY ON THE-pISCATAQUIs RIVER,
STATE OF MAINE, June 20, 1857. !
-N. VIZ. Nyc World OHce, Ne~ Yorh.:
Sri have been reader of the World
for sometime, and have frequently no.
tced the alarcity with which you have
come forward and explained things
through it's columns. You must be, in
deed, kind hearted man, or you would
not try to throw light on things just to
oblige other people, when you do not,
as a matter of fact, know what you are
talking about. Few men would so far
forget their own comfort as to do this in
order to please others. Most men are
selfish, and hang back when asked a diff
ticult question, preferring to wait till
they know ho v to answer it; but you,
sir, seem to be so free always to come
forward and explain things, and yet are
so buoyant and hopeful that you will es-
cape tho authorities, that l have ven,
to write you in regard to matter that |
| feel somewhat of an interest in. 1t is
now getting along into the shank of sum-
mer, and people from the great cities of
our land are beginning to care less and
less for the allurements of sewer-gas and
to sigh for home in the country, and to
neighborhOod at 50 week, with board
| have seen great many rules of eti-
pie who go the city, but have never run
up against large, blue book telling city
people how to SO conduct themselves as
to avoid adverse criticism while in the
country. Every little while some person
writes piece regarding Lhe queer pranks
of cOuntryman in town and acts it out
on the stage and makes a whole pile of
money on it, but we do not seem to get
the other side of the matter at all. What
| desire is that you will give us few
hints in regard to the conduct of city
people who visit in the rural districts dur
ing the heated term. | am not a profess
| Sional summer resort tender or anything
of that kind, but | am plain man, that
works and slaves in the lumber woods all
winter and then blows it IN, if you will
allow the term, on some New York
friends of my wife S who come down, as
they state for the purpose of relaxation,
but really to spread themselves out over
our new white coverlids with their
clothes on, and murmur in dreamy
voice, ooh, how restful ~
They also kick because we have no
elevated trains that will take them down
to the depot, whereas am not able and
cannot get enough ahead or forehanded
sufficiently to do So as heaven is my
judge.
| They bring with them small son, who
is pale, emaciated little ouSs, with a
quiet way of catching my three year-old
heifer by the tail and soaring the life out
of her that is far beyond his years. His
mother thinks he will not live, mayhap,
to grow up, and hope she may not be
disappointed. Still, he has good appe-
tite, and one day last summer, besides
his meals, he ate:
One pocketful green apples (pippins),
One pocketful green apples (Ben
Davis),
Three large stems rhubard,
One hatful green gooseberries,
Two ginger cookies, without holes,
Three ginger cookies, with holes,
One adult cucumber, with salt on same
One glass new milk,
Two uucooked hen eggs, on halfshell.
laid of all that day from haying, in
order to follow the little rascal around
with lead pencil and piece of paper,
and see how much he would eat. That
| evening l thought what beautiful night
he had selected for his death. The moon
was slipping in and out through the
frothy, fleece lined clouds, and l could
imagine the angels just behind the bat
tlements putting the celestial brio a-bric
high enough up SO that Henry couldn't
| get hold of it when he came. | had a
slow horse concealed behind, with which
intended going for the doctor. 1t was
a horse with which l had failed to get
the doctor in time on similar occasion,
and | felt that he could be relied on now.
Night settled down on the riproaring
Piscataquis and deepencd the shadows at
the base of Russell Mountain. The
spruce-gum tree of the Hoosehead Lake
region laid aside its work for the day,
and the common warty toad of the Pine
Tree State began to over estimate him.
self and initiate his person with the bugs
Of the evening, now and then lighting up
his ih;erior with lightning bug. 1t was
glorious evening that little Henry had
selected and set aside for his death. But
he was really the only one in our house
who slept we'll that night, and seemed
to wake up thoroughly refreshed. lie is
still alive as | write, and is coming down
here in July empticr than ever.
Oh, sir, can you help mea Will you
print this poor petition of mine, with the
tear-stains on it, and your reply to it in
the World, and soud me copy of the
paper, that | can show to IIenry's father,
who is a cousin of my wife's, but other.
wise has nothing to which he can point
with pride? Yours sincerely,
EBEN l.. TEwEY.
p. 81 have presumed some on youl
good nature, because | have been told
that you was born here. am sorry to
say that Shirley has never overcome this
entirely. 1t has hurt her with other to 1ns
in the state, but you ca see yourself tha,
there was no way we could provide against
it. My wife sends love, and hopes you
will print this letter without giving my
name, or if so, with a fictitious name, as
they call it, and perhaps it will fall into
the hands of those people who come down
here every summer with nothing in them
but sincere friendship, and so home full
of victualS. | wish you would put into
it some way piece that says do not re-
gard IA Christmas present of chalk meer.